Mechanotherapy is known to be efficient means of curative and restorative effect on the organism of a sick and healthy person, and holds a special place in the concept of kinesophilia and the theory of viscero-motor reflexes. Mechanotherapy may promote restoration of muscular tonus, motion of joints, muscular strength, motor functions, and other rehabilitation effects. Here, passive mechanotherapy, i.e., the one exercised without the patient's active muscular efforts, reduces the number of medical contraindications to using physical exercise. Passive stretching of muscles causes reflex currents producing a beneficial effect on the neuromuscular regulation systems, and hence, on regeneration and restoration processes.
Various implementations of passive mechanotherapy are known. For example, in invention (RU2076677, Grigoreva, Apr. 10, 1997), a method of physical exercises is described, where the patient is positioned in a lying or reclining posture on the surface of a support, causing rhythmic stretching of relaxed muscles performed through displacement of mobile links of the support. The rhythmic stretching of relaxed muscles is exercised at a frequency of 0.1-10 Hz, with the support positioned at 5-10° to the horizontal. However, in this method, no modes or devices are disclosed actuating the aforesaid effect; neither a possibility is specified of producing a local effect on parts of spine, knee and ankle joints.
There are known methods of mechanotherapy (U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,327, Graham, Lloyd, Nov. 20, 1984; U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,661, Lloyd, Apr. 12, 1994) by means of moving the body up and down along a circular trajectory in a plane perpendicular to the bed centerline and the longitudinal axis of the body, which ensures the relaxing effect. However, this method of mechanotherapy does not ensure stimulation of neurotrophic reflexes to muscle stretching, as it creates no considerable dislocation in joints.
There are known methods of mechanotherapy with implementation of passive stoop-and-stretch of the body by means of an exercise machine comprising hinged lodgments mounted in cantilever for the upper and the lower parts of the body, which are set in oscillatory motion opposite to the motion of the medium lumbar lodgment (U.S. Pat. No. 2,152,431, Jensen, Mar. 28, 1939; U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,835, Wright et al., Feb. 1, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 6,319,213, Tomas, Nov. 20, 2001). Oscillations of lodgments at various angles to the horizontal may be exercised in both the in-phase and anti-phase (U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,641, Riddle et al., Jun. 14, 1994) modes, and are implemented by the drive operating mode. These methods of mechanotherapy fail to provide for any relative movement of various parts of spine and the lower limbs, which rules out stretching of the main superficial and deep skeletal muscles. There is a known method of rehabilitation based on using passive flexural motions of the body (U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,260, McIlwain, Dec. 15, 1992). Cyclic movements of the body and legs are provided for the purpose of stimulation of blood circulation and muscular tonus for enhancing the restorative process in the loin area. Rehabilitation comprises positioning of the patient on a support made up of three parts—the central stationary part, where the lumbar section is fixed, and two movable ones, for the upper and the lower parts of the body. The movable parts are cyclically displaced in the vertical plane by an angle of 20 . . . 25° at a frequency of 4 to 15 oscillations per minute, which ensures synchronous bending of the body relative to the lumbar area. In its essence, this method ensures stretching of the spine lumbar area; however, it provides virtually no stimulating effect on other sections of spine and other main muscles of the body, as it creates no considerable dislocation in the relevant joints.
Exercise machines for performing passive mechanotherapy comprise a base, mostly in the form of a rigid frame, and a lodgment comprising several parts attached to the frame. The inclination angles, the speed of oscillatory movement, and the exposure duration are adjusted with a control unit through variation of performance of a drive, embodied as a screw pair; the support for the cervical spine may, in the course of the body oscillations, move freely along slide rails (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,216, Johnson et al., Nov. 21, 1995). However, the aforesaid passive mechanotherapy devices are rather complicated and are of a narrow targeting as they are limited to creation of alternating loads only in the distressed lumbar area to stimulate restoration of blood circulation in this area, yet they do not involve most of the skeletal muscles in the course of stretching.
The claimed inventions are based on the following assumptions and experimentally obtained results. Stretching of muscles is known to be a powerful natural factor stimulating neurotrophic functions (see, e.g., Booth F. W. Appl. Physiol.: Respirat. Environ. Exercise Physiol. 1982, 52, No. 5, p. 1113-1118). Static stretching of muscles is known to have no long-term aftereffect, although it does produce a trophic effect for some time. The author's studies (RU2076677) have shown that application of rhythmic stretching of relaxed muscles produces an efficient and rather prolonged influence on the state of the cardiovascular system, the emotional sphere, the locomotor system, as well as disorders of lipometabolism (Grigoreva, L. S., in: Proc. of V International Conference “Modern Technologies of Restorative Medicine”: Healing Effect of the New Kinesitherapy Method on Certain Basic Indices of Health (in Russian): Russia, Sochi, 2002, p. 165; Grigoreva, L. S., in: Proc. of the International Congress “Topical Issues of Restorative Medicine, Spa Medicine and Physiotherapy”: Employing the Principle of Dynamical Stretching of Relaxed Muscles in Corrections of Certain Basic Indices of Health: Russia, Sochi, 2006, p. 88 (in Russian); Grigoreva, L. S., in: Proc. of the X International Conference “Professional Longevity and Quality of Life” Movement Therapy as a factor of Adaptive Correction, Russia, Moscow, 2007, p. 240 (in Russian)). At the same time, the aforesaid health-improving effect was observed to be accompanied by statistically reliable effects of stabilization of the main dominant frequencies of the brain bio-potentials in the range of the alpha-rhythm related to regulation of homeostatic functions of human body. As is shown below, the same effect, from the point of view of conditions for optimization of reflexes to stretching, may be achieved in a more efficient way, through alternating exposures on various sections of the body and legs perpendicular to the body's longitudinal axis, of adjustable frequency and amplitude, with the head, or the neck, positioned on a stationary support. The latter circumstance, contrary to the prototype, produces no irritating effect on the vestibular apparatus. The distinctive features of the exercise machine also include a possibility of stoop-and-stretch in various sections of spine (namely, cervical, thoracic and lumbar ones), as well as in the lower limbs, with the movable support positioned in the area of the relevant joints.
As is shown in our studies, the invention enables a health-improving effect on the organism, which is made up of the following beneficial results. These include restoration of mobility and range of movements in various sections of spine and limbs, elimination of excessive body weight, positive effect on the cardiovascular system with correction of blood pressure and cardiac rhythm, as well as facilitation and stimulation of the transport function of blood. The latter is achieved owing to affecting the main superficial and deep muscular groups related to elastic structures of blood circulation and lymph flow, which creates additional opportunities for prevention and arresting of stagnating effects in the above systems and oxygen deprivation in tissues.